PLEASE NOTE: The show Sylvia has had an unusually painful genesis, and is now being described merely as 'a work in progress.' Injuries to cast members have led to some performances being cancelled; others downgraded to abridged concert versions. Tickets remain at preview levels. If you decide to go, be aware you're not seeing a finished product; and do check with the box office as to the status of your chosen performance.

The Old Vic marks two important anniversaries in 2018: its own bicentenary and one hundred years of women’s suffrage.

Central to the historic movement in Britain during the first two decades of the 20th century was Sylvia Pankhurst: artist, socialist, and militant campaigner for the rights of women, including – but not solely – the right to vote.

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Manchester-born Pankhurst abandoned her studies in fine art to dedicate herself to the cause of women’s suffrage. The suffragettes' unrelenting campaign included harassing politicians in public meetings, angry marches, and even breaking the windows of public buildings. The women fought with police, were fined and imprisoned, in Pankhurst’s case multiple times.

But they succeeded, and by the end of World War I in 2018 a first group of British women were given the vote: those over 30 who had a minimum set of qualifications.

Sylvia Pankhurst’s life and work, of which the above is but a minuscule slice, will be the subject of Sylvia, a new show at the Old Vic. This will not – as you might expect judging by the subject and the venue – be a conventional history play, but rather a lively young hip hop show, care of the queen of British hip hop choreographers, Kate Prince.

Founder of the irrepressible ZooNation company, Kate Prince counts among her hits Into the Hoods, which has a had a couple of hugely successful West End runs, and even a foray into the Royal Opera House. In 2014 she made her debut there as the writer and director of ZooNation’s The Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, another unqualified success, which subsequently transferred to The Roundhouse.

The cast is mouth-watering featuring one of the musical singers of the moment, Beverley Knight (The Bodyguard, Memphis et al) as Sylvia's mother, and Genesis Lynea (In the Heights) in the title role.

Sylvia is billed as a modern musical co-written by Kate Prince and Priya Parmar with original music by Josh Cohen and DJ Walde. Directed and choreographed by Prince and performed by ZooNation, it will, no doubt, enlighten a new generation about a crucial chapter in the fight for women's equality.